Camelot
by Boomerang Butterfly
Summary: They're the most talked about threesome since Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot...and maybe the most powerful. Tony/Pepper/Rhodey threesome, het, slash. SEQUEL TO SELFISH-READ THAT FIRST!
1. Chapter 1

The sequel to **_Selfish _**(go read this first!!), this is going to (hopefully) be a multi-part little fic. It's probably only four chapters at the most unless my muse goes batshit crazy, but I doubt it.

But hey, we'll see.

Enjoy, and please review!

Virginia Elizabeth 'Pepper' Potts-Stark does not care.

She does not care that she's teeter tottering at seven months pregnant on not-very-sensible five inch Alexander McQueen's down a hospital corridor. She does not care that the press are already outside that hospital and that she'd been photographed with red rimmed eyes and teeth worn lips. She doesn't care that the doctors insist that it's family only, or that he's in surgery and that they don't have any information right now. "But I'm his…"-she wails and breaks off because she's not his wife and can't go in and this is not happening right now…

None of that matters because she's breaking down in the middle of the corridor in front of rushing nurses and harried doctors and bright florescent lights and ugly white hospital walls. In front of strangers. In front of God. In front of Tony. And though she can barely register anything else she clings to his voice and the strength of his good arm.

"He's gonna be okay, Pep. I swear…I swear to God he's gonna be alright…"

His voice is choked and he's near crying and she knows he's blaming himself for this even though it's not his fault.

She turns as the tears fall and takes in his bruised face, the black eye, the busted lip. He's got a broken arm and cracked ribs and lord knows how many cuts and he's in so much pain but Rhodey's worse off and she knows that he's not feeling anything but worry and dread and this-should-not-be-happening. She presses her forehead to his and takes in a shaky breath and forces his bloodshot eyes to focus on hers.

"He'd damn well better be," she says. "Or he'll have to answer to me."

* * *

James Rhodes is quite possibly-and this is saying something-the master of seduction. He's got Tony beat by a hair, and only because Tony's so not used to this even now and he goofs up and stands in the middle of a hundred melted candles butt naked with a silly grin on his face. Tony's brand of seduction usually leaves her laughing till she's breathless and he's mock pouting before scooping her up and ravishing her amidst giggles on the sofa.

James, on the other hand, leaves her dizzy and flushed and shivering while his fingers run up and down her spine and his lips are just barely brushing her throat. He's not naked, only shirtless, slacks hung low on his hips, barefoot. There's melted chocolate on the stove and bourbon on the island, and Pepper knows that by the end of the night she's going to wind up one sticky, sweaty, sated mass of woman on the kitchen floor.

Sometimes, when she's in the middle of a strenuously long work week in New York and the wind chill is below 0 and Tony's up to his head with design projects with the R & D guys in California and Rhodey is at another finance meeting in Tokyo, she sits back in the big chair in the big desk in her office and daydreams she's got both of them wrapped around her so tightly it's simply a tangle of varying shades and limbs. She hits the speaker phone button for her conference call in forty-five seconds and opens the window even though it's snowing outside and lets out a breath.

Thank God they'll both be at the penthouse tomorrow.

* * *

Pepper's red and gold custom made stilettos are an anniversary gift from Tony from the first year. He made them himself, by hand, and though they're crafted from titanium alloy and are five and a half inches high they're delicious to walk in. She's never actually worn them anywhere but the house before, mostly because she doesn't really have anything to wear them with and because she kind of wants to keep the custom made to-die-for shoes her husband crafted _especially_ for her to herself. And so she does-for nearly four years, they sit quietly in her ridiculous cavern she calls a shoe closet (_just_ a shoe closet) on the back middle wall, the Red Wall, in the very middle on a satin pillow. Once or twice a year she takes them down and shines them up, and, wearing only one of Tony's expensive silk dress shirts or a pair of Jimmy's soft cotton jersey boxers and a bra, she parades around her big Malibu home all day in her five and a half inch red and gold titanium alloy custom made stilettos.

Until the opening of the Howard Stark Concert Hall.

It's the biggest event she and Tony have ever been to, save their wedding, the biggest event of the year, the biggest event in New York. It's in New York because that's where Howard was raised and where Stark Industries was born. It's on a stretch of land in Manhattan and is the size of a football field, once the home of an old hotel and a parking garage. Pepper's seen the building while in progress but this is her first time seeing it all done and up in lights. And if she knows her Tony like she knows her Tony, it's going to be one helluva hall.

Jimmy's in town and though it's no big deal that he'll be there, it's a big deal that _they_ are going together. Rhodey and Pepper's been to several galas and events on each other's arm when Tony's out of town and Pepper's gone solo when both were called away on business, SHIELD or otherwise. And on a few occasions, they all get gussied up and crowd the Bentley and go together.

Except this time, there's an overblown media storm brewing around them. One of the daily rags in Malibu published a picture of what looks like her and Jim kissing outside the penthouse and there's speculation that they're having an affair for a week before they catch all three of them on Tony's yacht and it's hell from there. They're dubbed the "Terrible Three" by TMZ, covered constantly by ET, and Howard Stern's having a field day with it. The paparazzi outside the mansion is such a mess, Pepper hasn't been anywhere in a month, doing business from her office at home, taking conference calls and vid meetings with the Board, who's demanding an explanation from all this, doing her best at damage control. She doesn't even want to think of what the poor PR people are going through.

It doesn't help that she's pregnant.

Nobody but she, Tony, Jimmy, Happy and SHIELD know about this and they only know because if anything were to happen to Iron Man, she and their child would be first priority. When she first finds out, she's no where near ready for her pregnancy to explode on the news; she can already see the headlines, already feel the heat. And she's not quite ready right that moment to face the world if her unborn child just so happens to _not_ be Tony's. Because that is a definite possibility and it terrifies her in a way she's not sure she understands.

But tonight, at four months, she showing a bit and though the short, thigh length Givenchy dress she's wearing is designed to flaunt her curves, she's not going to worry about her bump or the media or the paparazzi or what everyone's going to say when they figure out she's knocked up. She's going to put on her anniversary gifts and show off her new hair cut and flaunt her legs and if she wants to kiss her husband _and_ his best friend, then, well, damn it, she will. It's none of their fucking business anyway.

Pepper tucks Tony's hankie in the front pocket of his silk suit and straightens his tie. He's got on red and black and Rhodey, in the seat next to her, has on gold and black. She crosses her legs and leans back in the seat, the two halves of her whole on each side flanking her in case of emergency, but Pepper's okay. She's had a whole month to prepare for this and she knows how crazy it's going to be, but what the hell. The Bentley slows to a smooth stop and they're right outside the red carpet, the crazed masses screaming already because they know that this car holds Tony Fucking Stark and his wife and his best friend, her lover, his business partner, the Terrible Three, the most gossiped-about triangle since Camelot.

"You ready, babe?" Tony asks quietly, calm excitement and dread in his voice. Her Tony, her _Arthur_. A rough, calloused thumb strokes the inside of her arm, and she turns to Jimmy, her _Lancelot_, and nods, smiles. Traces her husband's lips with one slim finger and reassures him with blue eyes that she is. And _Guinevere_, reverent and splendid in black and gold and red, is the first to step out the car when Happy opens the door.

She takes a breath, steadies her shaking hands and stands proud and tall for the longest five seconds all by herself on the edge of that red carpet. When her two knights in shining black armor emerge from the vehicle, the world stands still. She wonders vaguely, as she takes the first step forward, if she _really_ understands just how much they love her. Then, as the world explodes around them, two big hands slip into either of her petite palms, and she thinks maybe she can begin to grasp how much.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks a mil for the reviews, I'm glad that this story is being liked so much. Here's part two, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Thank God she's finally calm now. Somehow, his Pepper has managed to swallow all the anxiety and fear she had pouring off her less than a minute ago and bottle it inside. She's sitting quietly in the waiting room, taking deep calming breaths, rubbing her swollen belly rhythmically. He knows that inside, she's a raging storm, and that all she wants right now is to be by Jim's side but she can't and she's accepting this and she's dealing with it.

She's so much stronger than he'll ever be.

Tony takes another painful, wincing breath and waits for the doctors, waits for news, waits for anything. His mind is racing back to that explosion and all he can think is 'That should've been me. That should've been _me_.' That bomb was intended for Iron Man, not War Machine. Whoever planted it had the intention to kill him, not Rhodey. But James pushed him out the way and now Tony's the one with only a broken arm and busted ribs.

And it's not fair.

The click of a door and he looks up to find Dr. Monroe walking towards him briskly, a perfect poker face plastered across his features. Tony uses everything he's got to get out the seat without crying out in pain. He feels his wife start to move as well, her once distant gaze now focused and intensely anxious. Staring into wide blue eyes, he merely shakes his head and presses his good hand against her cheek. "It's okay, baby, I'll go. Rest for me."

His voice is pleading or maybe Pepper is just tired, because she does sit down again, but it doesn't stop her from following the two men as they walk down the corridor, out of earshot, so she can't hear what's going on.

"Give me the worst of it first."

The doctor takes a short shaky breath and squeezes his hands into fists.

"He's lost so much blood…there isn't any available for a transfusion immediately. We've got him started on TPO but…Mr. Stark. Is there any family that you can reach? We need to notify them when-in case of-…"

Tony's trying his best not to panic and to raise any alarm as far as Pepper goes, but he knows she sees his hands shake. He shakes his head vehemently and clears his throat. This isn't going to happen. James Rhodes is _not _going to die. He's got contacts, and he's going to use them and he'll be damned if another person he loves is taken away from him. And then Tony goes from Tony Stark, scared best friend to Tony Stark, the boss.

"What exactly are the extents of his injuries, Dr. Monroe? I need to know so we can notify Dr. Bragnaugh and she can bring the required treatments."

He's silent for a moment and a little stunned but regains his composure. "Broken hip, fractures in three places. Head injury, though it's not know as of yet if brain damage is a factor. One lung pierced, extensive lacerations and second and third degree burns along his torso. The piece of steel embedded into his chest missed his heart by fraction of an inch, but did do some serious damage and that is where the majority of the bleeding stems from. We've got it stopped for right now, but his pulse is so low and he's not breathing on his own."

"How long can you keep him that stable?"

"How long do you need, Mr. Stark? We'll do all we can to keep him from getting any worse, but it's going to be trickier the longer we have to wait."

Tony's already limping back down the hallway towards Pepper and her phone. He's got calls to make. "Try to hold on till tomorrow, Dr. If I have to go get her myself, I will."

_But I refuse to call Emma Rhodes and tell her that her son is dead…_

* * *

Tony's in a meeting; it's already been a long day, and Pepper knows he's going to be worn out when he gets home. She's hoping she has time to finish the minestrone and chocolate torte she had going earlier in time, the one she started when she came home. The supper she had on the stove and in the oven before the lock turned in the door and Jim walked into the kitchen.

The minestrone and torte is almost ready before he drops his keys and briefcase on the counter, stalks like a panther over to where she stands by the stove, and wraps his arms around her waist before pressing her into an insanely passionate kiss. She's melting into him and moaning against his mouth, because this is not classic Jim Rhodes seduction-this is a bare bones he-needs-it-in-the-worse-way hot and dirty invitation, and Pepper gladly accepts.

He literally picks her up and she has just enough time to turn the oven down to 250 and the stove to warm, though that's a little difficult because she's sitting on the counter with him between her legs and his mouth on her throat while his hands are somewhere down south around the tops of her thigh-highs and her garter. "Are you sure," she manages to get out between his tongue in her mouth and her mouth on his almost bare shoulders, "that we can't just…do this…oh…down here?"

He sits back a little and gives her an incredulous look, which only serves to turn her own even more. "In the kitchen, baby?" His voice is several octaves lower, almost a growl really, and she shivers unconsciously. "Isn't that a little inappropriate?" And then he grins and smothers her retort with another kiss.

Pepper finds it funny, later, lying in bed that she never does remember how he gets her to the bed. Ever. It's as if her sex riddled brain blocks that part out as if it were unimportant. And maybe it is, she's not sure and doesn't care to ponder why it isn't, but she knows she remembers all the other parts. _Damn it_ if she doesn't remember all the other parts. They make her shudder in the afterglow minutes later, in the shower when she can finally move her limbs again, or even days later-at the office, in a meeting, during a press conference or interview, hell, even when she's out shopping.

He's usually the slow, patient, teasing one and Tony's the one that sets her reeling and panting and crying because she's coming and laughing at the same time. But today, Jim skips the sweet butterfly kisses down her belly and thighs and the lingering flitter of his fingertips against her lips. Today he pins her to the bed and undresses her in what has to be record time, leaves her completely naked and flushed and wanting while he strips and stands at the edge of the bed in all his delicious glory. She's not given much time to soak in the sights because he's above her, kissing her dizzy again, and her body arches to his touch when he sinks two fingers inside her.

He does an excellent job of just barely bringing her to the brink before spreading her thighs wide and swiftly plunging deep within her in one lusciously smooth thrust. Her head sinks into the downy pillows and her fingers dig into the expensive sheets and the most erotic groan-gasp-moan-scream that she's ever heard tears from her throat. He slows down just this once; just long enough for her to savor it for a few seconds and he's in then out again. And again, and again, and again. Her hips pump and shift to meet his and her legs are locked around him tight enough to do damage, but he relishes every pull and tug of her inner muscles around him.

She opens her eyes and in the dim light of the half lit bedroom, his skin glows like a god. It takes her breath away how beautiful this man is-a carved work of art right above her. He takes advantage of her stare to press his forehead to hers and stare back, daring her to close her eyes. And though their coupling is getting wilder by the moment and she's almost drowning in pleasure right now and it takes all her will to keep her eyes open, she doesn't dare shut them because the look in his is so intense it traps her. She's still staring when her hands clinch at the thick and powerful muscles of his lower back and her toes curl. He's still staring when his hands blindly slide up her thighs to her hips and grips them at a new angle.

Her eyes snap shut first, though, when she's coming. And god, she's _coming_ and it's like it's never going to stop. She swears she'll die if this doesn't stop but she's fully prepared to die like this and hopes to god that Tony doesn't put her cause of death on the tombstone. Jimmy hisses and shudders violently and lets out a strangled half cry, half groan before collapsing in a sweaty heap on top of her. He shifts slightly to the left so that his weight isn't crushing her but is still heavy enough, the way he knows she likes it. Several minutes later, when his breathing slows enough so that he can actually form some words, he whispers in her ear and she can't help the chuckle that slips out.

"Minestrone, huh? You trying to seduce me or something, Pep?"

* * *

When Jim packs up and leaves, he at least has the courtesy to say he's leaving but it doesn't stop it from hurting any less. He has to do this, even if it means seeing the stricken look on Pepper's face or hearing the confused rage in Tony's voice. It's just…it's gotten so hard to be…them.

The outside world has finally intruded on their little paradise. Their Camelot. The press and the media and every paparazzo that ever picked up a camera are stalking them and hounding them-it's hurting him because it's hurting them. He cares not so much for himself, but Tony's got so much to lose and Pepper's got her reputation and he's just…he's just the best friend. Maybe the Military won't like it, but he's not CEO of a multi-billion dollar company either, and he's not even in the damn Military anymore. He's just Stark Industries CFO, which doesn't matter really because Tony's got a million other people who are perfectly capable at charming the pants off potential clients and balancing budgets and looking damn good in a three piece Giorgio Armani suit. He doesn't need James Rhodes.

Though, when he gets to the hotel and tries to clear his head, he is at least man enough to admit that maybe he needs Tony Stark. And maybe he needs Pepper Potts-Stark, too. He realizes, as he takes out a glass and a bottle of good, near red cognac from the wet bar, that he's probably stupid but he loves two people more than he probably has any right to. And, as he swirls the rich liquid around the glass, he makes himself believe that leaving them is for their best, even if it hurts right now. Later one, this will pass and he'll come over again and have dinner, but just as the best friend. He'll call Pepper next week and have her work out statements for the media and in time all of this will just be another bad month they had. Pepper and Tony will go back to being what they should be without him, and he'll think about Tony's offer to be CFO again and will probably take it. But that's all that'll happen.

If he plans this out right, he thinks, finally taking a sip of the cognac, savoring the taste of it, he can have this cleared and done in time for the opening of the Howard Stark Concert Hall. He'll go, but he'll go alone and he'll see Tony and Pepper there and they'll be radiant. They'll all pose for pictures and smile and maybe it'll still sting but it won't hurt as much. And by then, Pepper will be four months along and starting to show and-

His head drops into his lap and he does everything in his power not to cry because God, this shouldn't feel as though a part of him has been ripped out of him. He draws in a sharp breath and ignores the sting of tears when he thinks about Pepper's baby, when he thinks of how her belly just barely is rounding, of how proud and alive and excited Tony is and the look in his eyes when Pepper tells them.

Rhodey drowns the cognac unceremoniously and flops back into the bed, rubs his eyes furiously and stares hard at the ceiling. At that moment he decides he hates himself.

He doesn't deserve to be as lucky as he is to have them.

* * *

Reviews make me happier than my best friend at a PacSun blowout clearance sale.

Which is reeeeeally happy.

:)


	3. Chapter 3

AN: So sorry for the delay, my muse was giving me hell. However, I do want to thank those that have stuck with me and are eagerly anticipating this installment. :) I hope I don't let you guys down.

It's raining outside, the day gloomy and gray. Tony's asleep, finally, in the other bed in the room. He'd practically passed out after almost three days without sleep and food, with only pain medication to keep him upright. But even the pills couldn't stop his body from turning off for a rest, and he'd succumbed last night. After twelve hours, he was still soundly sleeping, and Pepper was relieved that he hadn't made a peep all night.

She had slept, off and on, during the first three days, but kept having nightmares. Sometimes she woke up to find she was napping on the edge of James' bed and shot up abruptly, disoriented. Other times, her head rested in Tony's lap as he kept vigil, and with his soothing hands raking through her scalp, fell back asleep without much hassle. The beeps and hums of the machine that helped Rhodey to breathe somehow relaxed her; the rise and fall of his chest reassured her. He wasn't completely out of the woods yet, but he was close.

When they first let her and Tony in to see him, he was a few hours out of a second surgery and treatments from Dr. Bragnaugh had been started. A dripping I.V. was attached to his wrist and several tubes connected him from nose and mouth to several different other machines that whirled and whistled nosily. It seemed like something from a science fiction movie. Her eyes gazed over to his near obstructed face; lines were furrowed in his brow as if he were in deep concentration. Even in the coma they'd kept him under, he seemed as if he was fighting.

She hoped to God he was.

They let her stay in the room with him from then on. Happy came by and brought more clothes and some toiletries; he'd reached down and squeezed her shoulders in a comforting gesture. It almost brought tears to her eyes when she watched as he hugged a drained, distraught Tony. Emma and Camellia, Jimmy's mother and sister, arrived about an hour after that and Pepper wrapped both into hugs, tears falling, and all three not able to speak. It was Tony, with red, tired eyes that had rooms arranged in the hospital for the women. It was Tony that stood outside the room with Dr. Bragnaugh and went over his charts and progress. And it was Tony that explained just what the I.V. was helping with.

"It's a healing serum, of sorts. Angie's been researching this for years, since I've known her, and no, it's not FDA approved…hell, I'm pretty sure it's not approved anywhere, but she's more than sure that it's going to work. There's no side affects, and the serum starts taking effect in about three or four days, so while he may not be up and about soon, at least he'll be well enough to go home."

And audible sigh of relief could be heard from all three women, and Emma gave a tired, weak smile. "So Jimmy's going to be alright then, Tony?" He nodded, his head heavy with exhaustion. "Yes, Mama. He'll be alright." Running his fingers through thick unruly hair, he asked if any of them needed anything. Cammie shook her head and so did Emma, but Pepper frowned, grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"I need you to go to sleep. Now."

The command in her voice was not unlike the voice she used to make him go to meetings, but the look in her eyes was filled with worry. "I need to wrap things up, Pep. I'll catch a quick snooze in a minute." "No," she protested and shook her head. "_Now_. You've been up for four days without any rest, Tony. If I have to call Dr. Monroe and make him give you a sedative, I will." And she wasn't kidding, either. He was on the verge of collapsing and she was not about to have it. "We can handle things from here. You get in that bed and go to sleep right now."

He paused for only a second and sighed, but he couldn't help cracking a small smile. "As you wish," he murmured and kissed her gently on the lips. Then, he gave both Cammie and Emma hugs and pecks on the cheek before curling up in the bed across the room and falling asleep within minutes. They all were silent for a long time after that; Cammie went to the cafeteria and bought coffee for her mother and juice for Pepper. Emma sat in the chair beside Rhodey's bed and hummed softly. Pepper rested her head on Tony's bed and watched Jimmy breathing. She made a quick mental note to get Angie Bragnaugh the best thank you gift she could find.

Just as Pepper was on the edge of sleep again, a strong but gentle voice stirred her. "I'm pretty sure the things they say on the television are an exaggeration, at best." Pepper held her breath and raised her head slowly, carefully searching Emma's eyes. "I…it's not all…I mean…" Emma raised a hand and shook her head. "You don't have to explain, Pepper. Not right now, at least. It's a lot to take in, yes," she muses as she shifts in the seat, "but not…impossible. I'll like to know this one thing, however."

Pepper's on the edge of her seat and is waiting anxiously for something she doesn't know if she wants to hear.

"Is the child his?"

_Dear God…_

She's so unsure how to answer this question and not look stupid at the same time because she doesn't know for sure. She's sure she knows, but she doesn't have test results or anything remotely concrete, just this _feeling_ in her body, as if she's carrying another little part of him within her.

The shudder in her breath is enough for his mother.

"I need a little time alone with my son, Virginia."

And Pepper gets up on shaky legs, nods, and turns to the older woman for a few seconds, holding her gaze and shivering at what she sees. Behind those eyes is a woman who's struggling to come to terms with the fact that her son is in love with a married woman. She's trying not to blame that woman for whatever mess the media has entangled him in, but it's so hard not to point fingers. And knowing this makes Pepper admire and respect Emma Rhodes even more so.

"I'll let you know if Tony wakes up. You need a break, so go take one."

The latter statement is said without any ounce of derision, and her gentle voice gives Pepper an odd sense of comfort. It's as if she can actually face her own mother and father when they visit next week without falling apart. And with them on their side, then she doesn't need to worry about anything else.

On her way to the large window down the corridor she finds Dr. Bragnaugh with tea in her hand, staring out the window in thought. The doctor turns and offers Pepper a soft smile and she smiles back and marvels at the intelligence, the brain of this woman who's practically saved her Jimmy. _Their _Jimmy. "How are you doing, Virginia?" she inquires politely, and Pepper shakes her head. "It's Pepper, Angie. And I'm fine, I think. As good as can be expected." They stand in comfortable silence for a few short minutes before an arm snakes around Pepper's shoulders and she's actually crying now, in relief and pent up worry and fear, and Angie just lets her.

And she wonders, as she cries softly, about the heart of this woman, and how big it is, and how incredible Angie and Emma and Cammie are and how insignificant she really is.

* * *

Once upon a time, when Tony Stark was an awkward fifteen year old prodigy at M.I.T., he met two very important people. The first was James Rhodes, who quickly became known as Rhodey and would be Tony's best friend for many years to come. The second was an outgoing seventeen year old with dark eyes and mocha flavored skin, who was two inches taller than he barefoot and six in heels. She was a prodigy, in many ways, as he had been, only that her name wasn't thrust into the spotlight from the moment she was a child, and that maybe her talents hadn't been discovered or even yet exploited as his had been. She came from the streets of a grimy Atlanta neighborhood and had raised herself because no one else was there to do it for her. And though she had seen things that most seventeen year olds had no business seeing, she wasn't jaded. She was a free spirit, with a heart wider than she could've been expected to have and a smile that made his heart thump loudly and rattled his ribcage.

Her name was Angelina Jacobs.

Somewhere between sixteen and seventeen, Tony slowly shed his awkwardness and became the type of person that people flocked to. He was popular and funny and charming and could've had any girl he wanted except he only wanted one.

When Tony realized he'd fallen for Angie he told Rhodey and his friend just laughed and slapped him on the back and Tony couldn't understand. But he told _her_ and she smiled and pulled him into a kiss that was equal parts sweet and fiery and they made love in his dorm room for the first time and he fell asleep in her arms, wondering if any of this was real or not. Then, they graduated and went to Mexico where the three of them lay around all day and sipped martinis they were too young to buy and watched the sun melt into the ocean in a mess of oranges and red.

Harsh, cruel reality came crashing in and Tony fell apart because he couldn't handle it. He disappeared for nearly two years until Obadiah Stane called James Rhodes at three a.m. one night and gave him Tony's room number at the rehab clinic in Wyoming. James picked his friend up when he was finally released and took him to his grandmother's house in Valdosta, Georgia where Tony spent his days staring out of windows and ignoring the people that cared about him.

It wasn't until Angie, angry and hurt that he was trying to avoid living, threw the truth in his face did Tony breakdown and actually cry for the first time. He cried for his parents, for his lost innocence, for the reality that he was alone in the world. Except he wasn't because she was there to hold him as he sobbed violently, and so was Mama Neen. And Jimmy came back from training and held him too and the world wasn't right but it would be okay.

When he turned 21 he left Valdosta for New York to become C.E.O. of Stark Industries. Obadiah was waiting for him at the airport in Atlanta with the private jet and Jimmy and Angie and Mama Neen were there to see him off. He wrapped his best friend in a hug and kissed his adopted grandmother and kissed Angie like he didn't want to let go.

But he had known a few weeks back that they'd grow up and apart and it wouldn't be Tony loves Angie like it had been.

"I asked her to marry me before I got on the plane," he said softly, the candles lighting the dinner table in a soft romantic glow. "She smiled and laughed and shook her head, but she kissed me again and told me she'd always love me."

Pepper had wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled then, and cradling his hand in hers, marveled at the brand new engagement ring on her finger and at the man in front of her. And she thinks back to that scared, raw, 21-year old with the world on his shoulders and how he needed all the love he could get. Tony's smiling to himself and he rubs his goatee in thought.

"I think she still does, amazingly," he mused.

Pepper shook her head and gently kissed his knuckles.

"Loving you isn't hard to do, Tony. _Not_ loving you is."

* * *

The A.C. in the hotel is blowing like Alaska when Rhodey walks out the bathroom, but he isn't paying much attention to it because Tony's standing in his suite with his hands in his pockets, and Pepper's sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. She's got her hands sitting demurely in her lap but he knows from the anxious look on Tony's face that she's anything but demure right now, and he's almost afraid to find out what's going to happen next.

"How did you find me?"

It's dead silent then, as if the world stopped spinning and nobody's breathing because the air's so damn thick.

He doesn't realize she's gotten up and has crossed the room until his head slams back with the force of her slapping him.

"WHO THE _FUCK_ DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" she screams, and he's having a difficult time registering that this is really Pepper because he's never seen her so angry before. She's shaking and Tony instinctively moves to where she is and wraps his arms around her but she throws him off and gets right up in his face and points her finger at him. "I don't know who died and made you king but you have no right, no fucking right" and she breaks off because now she's crying. It takes every ounce of him not to sink into the corner from the way Tony's eyes are glaring at him accusingly. And every time she takes in a breath he swears it hurts.

There's an unanswered question lingering in the air that no one is brave enough to ask. Pepper's tears quiet to soft sniffles and Tony's holding her now and whispering, his face buried in her hair. Rhodey suddenly feels like an intruder though he knows he's the reason all of this is happening.

"You leave me," she starts suddenly, quietly now, "for three weeks and say that you need to be on your own and don't even offer an explanation why. So I'm asking you…_we're _asking you, why? Why did you go like that?"

He's trying to find a way to put this in words so she'll understand without it being selfish but it's impossible for him to word it any other way.

"I don't belong there. With you. With Tony."

At that, Tony lifts his head and frowns now, and Rhodey holds his breath at the hurt in his eyes. "You don't belong there? What the fuck kind of a reasoning is that?"

He shakes his head and moves past them towards the door, pacing, nervous, agitated. "I'm not…you're in a marriage, Tony. With Pepper. Not with me, not with us. It's not…normal, it's not right. God, I wish it was, but it's not… if it were, what they say about us would hurt so much."

Then he's kneeling before Pepper and tilts her chin up so her eyes will meet his. "Don't you see? I'm hurting you by loving you…and hurting you is hurting me." "Then you should know how much not being able to be with you, not being able to touch you is hurting me," she says and cups his cheek with her hand, smoothing the red skin where she slapped him. He winces.

"It's not that simple, Pepper," he sighs and moves away, stares out the window and tries to ignore that part of him that's screaming to give in and bury himself in her arms and wrap himself around Tony and just love them because he does. "Maybe to other people, it's not but to us…" She trails off and stands then, rubs her hands together. "Nothing makes sense to someone if they don't understand how someone else feels. This is right for us. If it wasn't it would nearly kill me to not be with you."

Tony's been silent through the majority of this, but he crosses to where James is standing. "If the opinion of the general public is what matters, then _fuck_ them. They _don't_ matter, cause they don't know us, they don't know who we _really_ are, how we really feel." And his eyes are boring holes into Jimmy and all he wants right now is to hold him and listen to him breathe.

"Except what they say matter to the people who do matter, Tony. You may not care, but Jesus…Mama thinks I'm a damn fool. And I'm pretty sure Pepper's mother doesn't care for the fact that her daughter's fuckin' her husband's best friend."

Pepper lets out a breath and shakes her head. "I've talked to Mom, Jimmy. She's…she's a traditionalist, yeah, but she loves me. She loves me and she knows I love you and that I love Tony." "But is love gonna be enough to stop them from gossiping to _her_ about it? Is it gonna be enough when they start talking about how far Virginia's fallen? They'll blame it on you, Tony, they'll say you started this-"

"Hell, I did start it," he grumbles. "I'm not the victim here and neither is Pepper. If anybody is it's you, because you're the one that's hurting the most right now."

And Rhodey knows he's suffering because he needs them, even as they need him. "You don't know, Tony…"he says weakly, and Tony's cradling him now and Pepper moves in front of him, wraps her arms around him. He breathes her in and clings to Tony and tries not to cry because it's not going to help anything, but God he's getting a headache from holding it in. she kisses his tears away and they just stand there, as he cries, and he soaks them in and comes to the painful conclusion that he's irrevocably connected to the both of them. Cutting them off is like severing a limb; unnecessary and destructive.

If loving them both means he's not normal, if it means he's selfish, then he'll just have to live with that. Because they make up the most vital, important parts of him and leaving them isn't helping the situation any; it only makes it worse. They have to face this, not run away from it.

"It's me and you and Pep against the world, Rhodey," Tony whispers and presses a kiss to the back of his neck. "It's us against the world, and fuck 'em if they don't understand."

He's pressed against the mattress then and drowns in them, and, as they make love, he realizes that _this _is right.

Their kind of right.

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